# Would someone kindly explain these odds from this newspaper? Regarding Olympic basketball chances **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** basketball-nba, olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 23, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701 "2024-07-23T18:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701/21 "2024-07-23T23:26:08Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Back to the OP, these are the odds for a given team to win the gold medal. USA at -500 is indeed a huge favorite; you would have to bet $500 to win $100. Your return would be $600: your bet plus your winnings. > > The next closest is Canada at +1100. Which means that if you bet $100 on Canada to win the gold, and they do so, you would win $1100, and your return would be $1200: your bet plus your winnings. That’s a reason why they can’t set a point spread for this bet. The whole tournament is multiple games, among multiple teams, to decide the medals. I suppose you could add up the point differential across all of a team’s games, and bet on that, but there would still be some weird issues. If it’s structured like other Olympic events, some teams play more games than others. And it would be possible to have a positive point differential and not win the gold. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701/22 "2024-07-23T23:34:56Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > If you want a ratio, -500 is 1/5. +1100 is 11/1. Thanks for that. As a horseplayer, I’m much more comfortable with a ratio than a moneyline. I knew there was an equivalence of some sort, and now I can see it. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701/23 "2024-07-24T01:35:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wait, so I can bet $1000 on the US winning the gold medal and get $1200 if they win? > > I feel like most sports betting places would not actually give me that kind of odds. You can create an account on DraftKings today (if you’re in a state which permits betting) and place a thousand dollar bet right now with those odds. I would expect that the other online betting sites have the same odds as well. If you’re willing to bet a thousand bucks to win 200 bucks, go for it. I personally don’t like those odds. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701/24 "2024-07-24T01:56:25Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > That’s a reason why they can’t set a point spread for this bet. Yeah, this is what’s called a ‘futures’ bet. A point spread can only be set on an individual game. ---
**Author:** ![Jegpeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jegpeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jegpeg)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701/25 "2024-07-26T12:01:18Z")
I think you are all over-confident of the USA’s chances of winning, it is far from a certain thing, I certainly wouldn’t bet on them at -500. The USA have won the last 4 gold medals but they lost to Argenina in 2004. They have also had someclose escapes more recently. In Tokyo they lost to France in the group stage and only went through as runners up, they met France again in the final but only be 5 points (87-82). In Rio and London Spain also had a close game against them in the Semi and Final respectively. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-someone-kindly-explain-these-odds-from-this-newspaper-regarding-olympic-basketball-chances/1004701.md?page=1)